The Selborne Society and Perivale Wood

Rae Hall and Andy Pedley

There are clearings in the wood to give glades and marginal areasOpen Day visitors enjoying the bluebells(photo: David Howdon)Volunteers coppicingThe meadows have been grazed for about 100 years.Investigating bumblebees at a field meeting led by naturalist Fiona Barclay

Except where otherwise stated, all photos by the Selborne Society.

Situated in the west of London, and just yards from the London Underground
Central Line, Perivale Wood is a remarkable place... containing about 19
acres of mainly pedunculate oak woodland, old (unimproved) pasture, a marsh, a
stream and five ponds, together representing several types of habitat in a
relatively small area: perivale wood was declared a statutory local nature
reserve in 1974.

The Reserve has been managed since 1902 by the Selborne Society,
initially as a bird sanctuary; it was leased by the Society
in 1914, and purchased outright in 1923. It is thought to be one of the
first nature reserves in the UK.

The Selborne Society itself was created in 1885, by George and Theresa
Musgrave, of Torquay, Devon. The Society was
formed in order to 'perpetuate the name and interests of Gilbert White,
the Naturalist of Selborne' and the Objects of the
Society were the 'Preservation of Birds, Plants and Pleasant Places'. It
became a national society with an office in London and
branches across the UK, including one in Ealing.

A member of the Ealing branch was so impressed by the birdsong he heard
coming from Perivale Wood that the branch agreed
with the farmer (who leased the wood) that he would maintain the woodland
hedges and appoint a keeper to coppice the
wood and protect the birds from the army of poachers, bird catchers, egg
collectors and flower sellers who had regarded it as a
free hunting ground up till then.

Inevitably, the First World War curtailed the growth and activities of
many voluntary bodies; including the Selborne Society.
But even so, when Perivale Wood, with some adjoining land, was put up for
sale, the Society was able to purchase it
outright in 1923, designating it as a memorial to Gilbert White. This was
mainly thanks to one anonymous donor who gave
about £5,000, the lion's share of the purchase price. Further pasture was
bought in 1931, so a total of 27 acres were saved for
nature conservation.

The Second World War was even more damaging to the Society - by the 1950s
most of the Society's branches had ceased to
function. There is no doubt that acquiring Perivale Wood had given
purpose and focus to the Ealing branch, which otherwise
would have likely come to an end after World War 2, like almost all the
others. As it is, the Society now has over 1000
members, and there is little doubt that acquiring Perivale Wood protected
the land from becoming a sprawl of urban roads and housing. But, at the
end of World War 2, the Wood and the Society's
future depended on the small remaining nucleus of members whose interests
centred on Perivale Wood itself.

Even though the Wood was in a sad state of neglect, the range and quality
of its animals and plants were sufficient for the Nature Conservancy to register
the area as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in
December 1957. About then, the Society began to strengthen, and an
intensive management programme was initiated at the
Reserve, which continues today, to preserve, protect and enhance this very
special place. It was also about then that groups of
pupils from local schools started coming to the Reserve for open-air
lessons in natural history, and a Junior Section was
started in 1964, with its own programme of activities. That Junior
Section also continues today. School - and other - parties
continue to be welcomed to the Reserve.

For adult members, a wide range of indoor meetings and field excursions
were organised over the years, which appealed to
differing tastes and attracted more members - again this programme
continues to the present - and the Society is able to
provide speakers, on Gilbert White, the Society and Natural History, to
other local societies.

In 1970, the Society held its first Open Day at the Reserve, and this
became an annual event, now usually the last Sunday in
April. About 1500 visitors are welcomed to the Reserve, to be inspired by
it, and to enjoy the carpet of bluebells.

The Wood continues to be managed mainly by voluntary work from Society
members with monthly working parties, though
recently we've used Community Payback - the Government scheme under which
convicted offenders are required to do
unpaid work as part of their sentence. Most Mondays, a team of 8
offenders and one supervisor work at the Reserve. The
tasks completed include the removal of unsightly temporary fencing,
which has greatly improved one of the Reserve's
boundaries. Their present project is to remove holly bushes - recently
holly has become highly invasive and, following a
review by the Society's Scientific Officer, Peter Edwards, the programme
commenced.

The Society engages contractors for specialist work, or work
that is best done by machine, and horses are grazed in the paddocks -
as they have been for about the last 100 years! The continuity is an
important part of the management. Conservation Volunteers are used
for some work, and recently we also welcomed 25 volunteers from
Imperial Innovations, part of Imperial College, through the Business
in the Community initiative.

Situated on the west edge of London, there are threats and
opportunities to the Society and the Reserve - the biggest threat is
High Speed 2 (HS2), the first leg in the proposed new, national, high
speed rail network. The track is planned to run along the southern
boundary, parallel with the Central Line. The Environmental Impact
Assessment is currently being undertaken, so that 'mitigation' can be
planned. Exactly how one mitigates for the disturbance created by 14
trains an hour whooshing by at 200 kph remains to be seen. It is
unlikely to enhance the biodiversity in the Reserve. The opportunities
are to increase the educational work that we undertake; with plans
afoot for a new education centre that will enable greater educational
work to be undertaken. It is a difficult balancing act, to increase the
use of the Reserve without affecting its sensitive ecology.

The Reserve is usually kept locked to protect its delicate
environment. The Reserve Open Day 2013 will be on Sunday 28
April from 10am to 4.30pm. Non-members are also welcome at the
field meetings on the first Saturday of each month and at the
conservation management (working parties) on the second Saturday.
A full diary of events can be found on the website.